Pilot has launched their Iroshizuku range of fountain pen inks for some time now, and it is a very popular range among fountain pen enthusiasts and collectors of inks. Following the success of their 50mL glass bottled Iroshizuku inks, Pilot has recently launched the Mini Iroshizuku inks that come 3 in a set. Each mini glass bottle contains 15mL of an ink, and you can mix and match your preferred colours for each set. I decided to dive in and let myself be tempted by the inks, as I had held back from buying them long enough to jump onto the opportunity to buy all 24 colours when the Mini Iroshizuku inks came out. I didn’t need 24 bottles x 50mL of inks, as I was sure I wouldn’t have been able to finish them all! So when the 15mL were out, it was perfect for me. All 24 bottles fit into a little box which I tucked away nicely in my cabinet. Iroshizuku inks are named in Japanese, so while I found it exotic and attractive, it was really quite difficult to remember. I haven’t found a way to remember the ink names yet, but I have decided to take […]
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I’m trying out this new series where I share a couple of fountain pen stories from readers, friends, and fellow fountain pen enthusiasts, in the middle of each month. Let’s see how it goes. Here are the stories for September 2015. Stories have been edited slightly for coherence and language: My Grandfather Led Me Into The World Of Vintage Pens – Roy, Singapore I had always wanted to try or see this mysterious pen which wrote with a nib. Remembering that people used fountain pens in the past, I decided to ask my grandfather if he had any fountain pens. He went to dig around, and came back with a grey/green pen with a gold cap. It had a hooded nib, so I was surprised when I first saw it. I was wondering how on earth the pen worked. He passed me a huge bottle of Parker Quink ink, and I pressed the sac to see if ink would go in, and it did! After I brought it home I thought that was it, and I left it in a corner because I was busy with work. A week later I decided to Google and find out more about the pen, which stated “Parker […]
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Everyone does ink logging in different ways. I have come across a variety of interesting ways that people record their inks. Some techniques may be good representations of ink being laid down on paper when writing with a fountain pen, some may not. For me, my method is not perfect, but I like it anyway. Here’s sharing with you the procedure by which I log my inks. Materials used: Memo word cards, 90mm x 38mm Round paper stickers (Sun Flower Brand Labels, #1013) Cotton swabs Kitchen towel, cut to desired size (mine is about 25mm x 50mm) Plastic dropper/pipette (for inks and water) Inks (here I am using the Rohrer & Klingner Viridian Green) Water Dip nib holder and dip nib (I use a WM Mitchell Pedigree Fleetwing #0528) The Process Step 1: Dip the cotton swab into the ink and let it soak for 5 seconds or so. This is to ensure that the cotton is well saturated with ink. If you do not soak it well enough, the swab may turn out paler than what it’s supposed to be. Step 2: Perform your swabbing on the word card. I do it from left to right and trying not […]
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Finally, I’m writing a post dedicated to fountain pens for beginners. Let’s get started on fountain pens in the economy price range, which, by my definition, is below 20 USD. That would be approximately 25 SGD or 15 Euros. In the eyes of many non-fountain pen users, fountain pens seem to be luxury items that are valued at a full month’s salary or more. Well, it is true in certain cases, but let’s not go there today. If you are just starting out on fountain pens, you’d probably prefer to invest in something that has decent quality but does not cost a bomb, and most likely not something that you’d spend even a tenth of your salary on. Many questions may have come to your mind when you consider that purchase. You may wonder if you will actually like fountain pens at all, since you’ve spent all your life using ballpoint pens, pencils, and rollerballs. You may have walked past a fountain pen store or a Montblanc boutique, and got a little freaked out at the 3- or 4- digit price tags (and probably with multiple zeroes at the back, if we are talking currencies like the Chinese yuan, Japanese yen, or Indonesian rupiah) on the […]
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Pilot Pen Singapore hosted a fountain pen meet for Singapore Fountain Pen Lovers (SFPL) yesterday at Milagro Spanish Restaurant, Orchard Central. Due to the overwhelming turnout, we admins of the Facebook group had to do some attendance control before the event so that the venue wouldn’t be bursting at the seams! The total turnout was 73 pax or so. The event started off with a speech by Mr Benjamin Teh, General Manager of Pilot Pen Singapore. During the speech, he addressed some of the questions that SFPL members have asked on the Facebook group regarding Pilot products. At a corner of the restaurant, Pilot showcased a few new products that were launched recently. One was the beautiful Pilot 2015 Limited Edition Capless fountain pen, the “Twilight Blue”. The pen features a nice gradient from blue to purple throughout the body, and has an 18K rhodium-plated nib to match. In addition, another of the products launched was the 15mL Iroshizuku 3-in-a-box ink set, or what they call the “Mini Iroshizuku Inks”. All 24 colours were showcased at the meet as well. Another highlight of the day was the “special feature table” at which we could try out 3 different nibs belonging to the Pilot […]
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Pen Chalet sent me the Monteverde Artista Crystal fountain pen for review, and what a bright and sweet pink it is! It comes in a medium-sized green box with white lining inside, and a ribbon to hold the pen in place. Appearance I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before, but I really love demonstrator-type fountain pens, which are pens that have a clear body and you can see everything that is going on inside the pen. Technically speaking, the Monteverde Artista Crystal is not really a demonstrator as it has a glossy metal section which is opaque. But the pink body itself is made of very transparent acrylic resin and you can see the inside very well. The pen also has chrome accents on the cap (ring, clip, and button), other than its section. The feed is transparent! That means it will turn into the colour of the ink that you put into the pen! There is a reflective chrome button at the end of the cap, and I could see myself in it, like a mirror. In the photo below, you can see my camera clip-on lens reflected clearly in the button! While I love the overall design […]
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Namiki is launching the Limited Edition Kabuto fountain pen, and only 170 pieces are available worldwide. Designed and decorated by skilled artisan Michifumi Kawaguchi, this piece features the Kabuto (helmet) and Tachi (sword), which are Samurai armour essentials. Today, the Kabuto and Tachi are honoured during the Boys’ Festival in Japan on May 5 every year, which is a festival to celebrate the transition of Japanese boys to adulthood. The Namiki Limited Edition Kabuto fountain pen features an 18-karat gold nib with rhodium accents and piston ink delivery system that ensures peerless writing quality and long-lasting performance. Released for the world at a limited quantity of 170 pieces, the exquisite Namiki fountain pen is packaged in a lavish specially handcrafted Japanese Paulownia gift box and comes with a matching limited edition ink bottle. — Pilot Pen Singapore The Namiki Kabuto fountain pen is designed using a combination of various Maki-e techniques, such as Taka Maki-e (raised Maki-e) for the Kabuto, Hira Maki-e (flat Maki-e) for the Tachi, and Togidashi-Taka Maki-e (burnished raised Maki-e) and gold powder for the background. In addition to Maki-e, the dome of the Kabuto has sparkling Raden inlay. Artisan Michifumi Kawaguchi is also known for his other […]
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Aesthetic Bay held a Nakaya Pen Clinic from 25-27 August 2015 and I was happy to be invited to the Pen Clinic and the Thanksgiving session for the Nakaya team, which was held on the final day of the Pen Clinic. I arrived there right after work, and there was already a crowd gathered around the table where nibmeister Shinichi Yoshida was hard at work, tuning nibs for Nakaya pen owners. There were also many pens on display, and needless to say, I was tempted by a good many of them! It was fascinating to watch the nib tuning in progress. Yoshida-san was a humble man of few words, and he was very focused on the nib work. The speed at which he adjusts the nib was amazing! The way he ran the nib across a grey stone to smoothen it out was like an artist running his paint brush across canvas. I imagined that if I was the one doing this, I would have removed all the tipping from the pen nib. Yoshida-san also could do grinds for left-handed pen users, and I was told that he does it excellently too. To help you choose the right type of […]
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Some time ago I’ve reviewed the Backpocket Ink Tester that was provided to me by Straits Pen. Backpocket notebooks and journals are made by Curnow Bookbinding & Leatherwork. They come in various designs, and as I found out, paper quality too. If you remember, the Ink Tester that I reviewed had paper that were alright, but not great, as feathering and bleedthrough still occured. This time, Justin from Blank and Write Singapore provided me with a Backpocket journal that was supposed to have better paper. Let’s see how it fares. When I received the Backpocket Journal, I was surprised to see the Blank and Write logo design on the front cover. It must be a special edition, specially made for Blank and Write. Great marketing! Justin has also included a little Blank and Write bookmark made out of a tag as a souvenir. The Tomoe River paper is paper that many may already be familiar with. I personally have never tried the paper before, but have heard raving reviews of it. There had been a couple of “mass orders” on SFPL with big demands of Tomoe River paper. Well, at last I get to try it now in a nice […]
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Ever since knowing about the Online SG50 Vision Calligraphy Set, I have grown interested in Online fountain pens. The SG50 was no doubt a very elegant piece with its brushed red body and the shiny engraving. I decided to look more into another Vision pen, this time a non-calligraphy one, and make a few notes about it here. I have this pen and other than knowing that it’s from the Vision range of pens, I have no idea what specific model name it has. It is nevertheless an attractive pen which is clearly targeted for everyday use. The patterned body is youthful with meandering silver lines against pink and purple alternating strips of colour. Taking a look at the Online Pen website, you can see that they have pens for “Young Writing”, “Fine Writing”, and “Modern Writing”. The Vision range of pens fall under the “Modern Writing” concept, which to me is like the meeting point of Young and Fine Writing instruments. The pen comes in a simple but nice textured cardboard box with a transparent plastic window. Sometimes, it’s nice to have small, light and simple boxes for a change, especially if you’re like me and like to keep […]
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